It was 3:12 a. m. when nine-year-old Glenn Kreamer awoke to the smell of burning. Except for the
crackling of flames somewhere below there was not a sound in the two-storey house at Baldwin, Long Island.
With his father away on night duty at a local factory, Glenn was worried about the safety of his mother, his
sister Karen, 14 and his 12-year-old brother Todd. He ran downstairs through the smoke-filled house to push
and pull at Karen and Todd until they sat up. Then he helped each one through the house to the safety of the
garden. There, his sister and brother, taking short and quick breaths and coughing, collapsed on the lawn.
     The nine-year-old boy raced back into the house and upstairs to his mother's room. He found it impossible
to wake her up. Mrs. Kreamer, a victim of the smoke, was unconscious (無意識的), and there was nobody to
help Glenn carry her to the garden. But the boy remained calm and, as a fireman said later, "acted with all the
self-control of a trained adult."
     On the bedroom telephone, luckily still working, Glenn called his father and, leaving Mr. Kreamer to
telephone the fire brigade and ambulance service, got on with the task of saving his mother.
      First he filled a bucket with water from the bathroom and threw water over his mother and her bed. Then,
with a wet cloth around his head he went back to the garden.
      He could hear the fire engine coming up, but how would the firemen find his mother in the smoke-filled
house where flames had almost swallowed up the ground floor?
     Grasping firmly a ball of string (線繩) from the garage, Glenn raced back into the house and dashed
upstairs to his mother's room. Tying one end of the string to her hand, he ran back, laying out the string as
he went, through the hall and back out into the garden.
     Minutes later he was telling fire chief John Coughlan:"The string will lead you to mother." Mrs. Kreamer
was carried to safety as the flames were breaking through her bedroom floor.

1. Why did Glenn run downstairs first?

A. He wanted to find out what was happening.
B. He was worried about his mother's safety.
C. He wanted to save his sister and brother.
D. He went to see if his father had come back from work.

2. How did Glenn help the firemen to save his mother?

A. By throwing water all over her and her bed.
B. By carrying her to safety with his brother.
C. By pushing and pulling at her.
D. By tying a string to her hand.

3. What did Glenn do to protect himself?

A. He put a wet cloth around his head.
B. He threw water all over himself.
C. He hid himself in the bathroom.
D. He rushed out to the lawn.

4. Glenn saved his family because _____.

A. his father had taught him to do so on the phone
B. he had learned something about first aid
C. he had dealt with the emergency calmly and wisely
D. he had followed his mother's instruction

    When a close friend dies, it often forces you to consider your own death. The more you have in common
with the friend, the more his death will make you wonder about your own. Sometimes you will naturally say
to yourself, "It could just as easily have been me." Such a death has a way of reminding us how fragile life is,
and it may cause you to reassess (重新評價) the direction of your own life. 　　
    Jack's story is a good example. A successful businessman making a lot of money, Jack didn't spend as
much time with his family as he wanted. His job required him to work long hours. But three years ago one
of his best friends, a man who worked in the same office, had a heart attack. He died while celebrating his
daughter's eighteenth birthday in a restaurant. He was only fifty years old. 　　
    Not long after his friend's death, Jack started to have a chest pain. Finally he had a good physical check-up.
He received a clean bill of health. But the chest pain continued. He kept thinking of the death of his friend. Jack
thought about how much his friend missed in life and he saw how hard it was for his friend's family to manage
after he passed away. 　　
    Jack realized that he didn't want to end up his life that way. He talked his feelings over with his wife and
children, and decided to change his way of life. The family moved to a small town where he started a simple
life. Now he is running a small art gallery (畫廊). He is relaxed, and says he has never been so happy in his
life. And he has got no more chest pain.

1. Your close friend's death is _____ to you.

A. a warning 　　　　　　　　　　
B. common 　　
C. a direction of life 　　　　　
D. an example

2. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph means "_____".

A. The doctor didn't write a word on his bill 　　
B. The doctor didn't want Jack to pay for the bill 　　
C. The doctor didn't find anything wrong with him 　　
D. The doctor didn't want to treat his pain

3. His friend's death made Jack _____.

A. lose much interest in life 　　
B. realize that he missed the friend very much 　　
C. doubt his way of life 　　
D. ill for some time

4. While living in the small town Jack _____.

A. earns less money 　　　　　　
B. gets more time 　　
C. has a happier life 　　　　　
D. does all these mentioned above